Fundamental Understanding of the Interactions between Elemental Selenium and Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Particles in Wastewater

In this study, interactions between elemental selenium particles and different surfaces (i.e. Fe(OH)3, silica, octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) modified silica and selenium film coated gold) are investigated to understand the behavior of elemental selenium particles in wastewater treatment process. It is found that the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) forces govern the attachment of elemental selenium particle to Fe(OH)3 and silica surfaces, while additional attractive hydrophobic forces are found when elemental selenium particles interact with OTS modified surface and selenium film. However, elemental selenium is less hydrophobic in nature than OTS modified surface. When Fe(OH)3 is used as a coagulant, the salt concentration greatly impacts the Fe(OH)3 morphology and the interacting forces that the polymer behavior of Fe(OH)3 is promoted at low salt concentration. And the electric double layer (EDL) force decreased and the Van der Waals force dominates at high salt concentration. The fundamental understanding of the interactions between selenium and hydrophobic/ hydrophilic particles in wastewater accelerates the development of new technology for the removal of selenium from industry wastewater

Loose Gangues Backfill Body’s Acoustic Emissions Rules During Compaction Test: Based on Solid Backfill Mining

In fully mechanized solid backfilling mining (FMSBM), the loose gangues backfill body (LGBB) that filled into the goaf becomes the main body of bearing the overburden load. The deformation resistance of LGBB is critical for controlling overburden movement and surface subsidence. During the process of load bearing, LGBB will experience grain crushing, which has a significant effect on its deformation resistance. Gangues block will be accompanied with obvious acoustic emissions (AE) features in process of slipping, flipping and damaging. Under confined compression test, monitoring the AE parameters of LGBB can reveal the impact mechanism of grain crushing on LGBB deformation. The study is of great significance for obtaining an in-depth understanding of the mechanical properties of LGBB, and providing guidance to the engineering practice of FMSBM. In order to study the rules of acoustic emissions (AE) of graded Loose gangues backfill body (LGBB) in confined compression test, this article introduces the AE systems to conventional confined compression test to monitor AE signals resulted from the friction and fragmentation among LGBB. The test results show that in the process of LGBB compaction, AE parameters are highly correlated with the strain-stress curve. AE events of balanced-sized graded gangues are more inactive than other two graded samples in different compression stages, AE events of large-particle-dominated graded gangues are most active. In the spatial distribution, AE events are the most active on the edges and the middle part of test samples and the phenomenon of grain crushing is the most obvious in these positions

Time Rules the Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Photodynamic Therapy

Lack of adequate effector T cells infiltrated in tumor is one of the main problems in the failure of immune checkpoint blockade therapy (ICBT). Photodynamic therapy (PDT) induced acute inflammation can sensitize tumors and activate T cells, thus assisting immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) against tumor growth and metastasis. T cells maturation and activation lag 3 to 7 days behind PDT. However, such timing in the combination therapy of ICI and PDT is commonly ignored in designing numerous multi-functional integrated nanomedicines. Herein, the authors illustrate that intervention timing of ICI after PDT affects the anti-tumor efficacy. A tumor-targeting nanomedicine is prepared by encapsulating indocyanine green into CD44 specifically binding material, a hyaluronic acid conjugated lipid poly(ethylene glycol). The PDT nanomedicine is designed to induce a robust immune response in tumor. The optimal group (Combo-STAR), ICI gave 5 days after PDT, significantly suppresses local tumor growth and eliminates metastasis. What should be highlighted is the time point of administration because if ICI is given too early, T cells are immature, otherwise, T cells are exhausted if ICI is given too late. This work presents theoretical guidance for raising awareness of intervention timing when augmenting ICBT with immune response inducers in clinic

Kinetic Analysis of Bio-Oil Aging by Using Pattern Search Method

Bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is unstable, and aging would occur during its storage, handling, and transportation. The kinetic analysis of bio-oil aging is fundamental for the investigation of bio-oil aging mechanisms and the utilization of bio-oil as biofuels, biomaterials or biochemicals. The aging kinetic experiments of bio-oil from poplar wood pyrolysis were conducted at different aging temperatures of 303, 333, 353, and 363 K for different specified periods of time in capped glass vessels. The traditional method with two separate fittings was employed to fit experimental data, and the results indicated that the obtained kinetic parameters could not fit the experimental data well. An advanced approach for kinetic modeling of bio-oil aging has been developed by simultaneously processing experimental data at different aging temperatures and using the pattern search method. The aging kinetic model with the optimized parameters predicted the aging kinetic experimental data of the bio-oil sample very well for different aging temperatures

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens attenuates the intestinal permeability, oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress: transcriptome and microbiome analyses in weaned piglets

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is related to oxidative stress (OS) and leads to intestinal injury. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SC06 (SC06) can regulate OS, but its roles in intestinal ER stress remains unclear. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 32 weaned piglets were treated by two SC06 levels (0 or 1 × 108 CFU/g), either with or without diquat (DQ) injection. We found that SC06 increased growth performance, decreased ileal permeability, OS and ER stress in DQ-treated piglets. Transcriptome showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) induced by DQ were enriched in NF-κB signaling pathway. DEGs between DQ- and SC06 + DQ-treated piglets were enriched in glutathione metabolism pathway. Ileal microbiome revealed that the SC06 + DQ treatment decreased Clostridium and increased Actinobacillus. Correlations were found between microbiota and ER stress genes. In conclusion, dietary SC06 supplementation increased the performance, decreased the permeability, OS and ER stress in weaned piglets by regulating ileal genes and microbiota

A Robust Nanoparticle Platform for RNA Interference in Macrophages to Suppress Tumor Cell Migration

Macrophages are one of the most abundant immune cells in the solid tumor and their increased density is associated with the specific pathological features of cancers, including invasiveness, metastasis, immunosuppression, neovascularization, and poor response to therapy. Therefore, reprogramming macrophage behavior is emerging as a promising therapeutic modality for cancer treatment. RNA interference (RNAi) technology is one of the powerful strategies for the regulation of macrophage activities by silencing specific genes. However, as polyanionic biomacromolecules, RNAi therapeutics such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) cannot readily cross cell membrane and thus specific delivery vehicles are required to facilitate the cytosolic siRNA delivery. Herein, we developed a robust nanoparticle (NP) platform for efficient siRNA delivery and gene silencing in macrophages. This NP platform is composed of biodegradable poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL), poly (-caprolactone)-b-poly (2-aminoethyl ethylene phosphate) (PCL-b-PPEEA), and PCL homopolymer. We chose CC-chemokine ligand 18 (CCL-18) as a proof of concept therapeutic target and our results demonstrate that the CCL-18 silencing in macrophages can significantly inhibit the migration of breast cancer cells. The successful regulation of the macrophage behavior demonstrated herein shows great potential as an effective strategy for cancer therapy

Reaction Chemistry and Kinetics of Corn Stalk Pyrolysis without and with Ga/HZSM-5

The bifunctional Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst has been proven having the capability to increase the selectivity of aromatics production during catalytic pyrolysis of furan and woody biomass. However, the reaction chemistry and kinetics of pyrolysis of herbaceous biomass promoted by Ga/HZSM-5 is rarely reported. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) analysis and non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at four heating rates were carried out to investigate the decomposition behavior and pyrolysis kinetics of corn stalk without and with Ga/HZSM-5. The effective activation energies for corn stalk pyrolysis were calculated by using the Friedman isoconversional method. The Py–GC/MS analysis results indicated that the Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst had a high selectivity toward producing the aromatic chemicals of xylene, toluene and benzene, whereas the major products from non-catalytic pyrolysis of corn stalk were oxygenated compounds. The presence of Ga/HZSM-5 could significantly reduce the effective activation energies of corn stalk pyrolysis from 159.9–352.4 kJ mol−1 to 41.6–99.8 kJ mol−1 in the conversion range of 0.10–0.85

Co-pyrolysis of Miscanthus Sacchariflorus and coals: A systematic study on the synergies in thermal decomposition, kinetics and vapour phase products

In this work, co-pyrolysis of Miscanthus Sacchariflorus (MS) and three ranks of coal, namely lignite (LC), bituminous coal (BC), and anthracite (AC), was performed at the analytical scale. The co-pyrolysis kinetic and products were analysed and compared theoretically and experimentally. The results revealed the synergistic effects of the coal characterstics and biomass blend ratio (BBR) on the thermal decomposition and the products in gaseous phase. The co-pyrolysis of MS-LC and MS-BC samples was characterised by three distinct stages, which were sequentially dominated by moisture removal, decomposition of MS and decomposition of coal. The activation energies of the co-pyrolysis process were different from the activation energies of the pyrolysis of individual MS and coal samples. The kinetics analysis showed that increasing the BBR increased the activation energies of the MS-coal blends up to 25% at the temperatures below 350 °C. However, at the higher temperature range, it decreased the activation energies of MS-LC and MS-BC blends but increased those of MS-AC blends. Both of the coal rank and BBR had noticeable impacts on the thermal behaviour during co-pyrolysis. The optimum positive synergistic effects were obtained on MS-LC blend with a BBR of 1:1. The FTIR analysis results showed the evolution profiles of CH4, CO, CO2, water, formic acid, phenol and xylene. All the products analysed showed L-peaks (250–400 °C) corresponding to MS decomposition. Increasing the BBR promoted the release of all the analysed products from MS-LC and MS-BC, indicating the synergistic effect of the co-pyrolysis